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Talk:The Solid Gold Kidnapping
SMDM theme music I have only ever seen the 2-episode reedited version. Just before the Austin's first scene the familiar SMDM theme is heard. Was this added to the reedited episode or was this in the original? Also, what do the opening credits look like? Were they similar to the series, or did they reuse the Springfield song from WW&W? The reason I ask is it would be notable to mention this telefilm as the first appearance of the SMDM series theme music, but without access to the original film I can't compare the two. 23skidoo 15:24, 1 February 2008 (UTC) :According to my memory, TSGK reused the Dusty Springfield intro from WWW. I distinctly recall being disappointed by that, and being thrilled by its replacement in Population:Zero by the now classic intro for the series proper. However, at 30 years distance it would help to get some definitive information, particularly as to use of Oliver Nelson's talents. So many credits online derive from the syndicated edit that contradictions abound. The original pilot was issued on Laser, while Wine, Women and War had a VHS release in the UK in it's original form. The PAL VHS of TSGK, however, is the syndicated cut, so finding the original for the third telefilm is much harder. The tail credits retain the Dusty Springfield song, so that tends to corroborate my memory, but not to the point of certainty. Does 'anyone' possess the original cut?--Major Sloan (logged in from an undisclosed location) ::I hope so. I'm watching the two-episode version right now and, to be honest, it's awful. The first 1/3 of episode one plays out like an Edward D. Wood Jr. movie with dialogue noticeably overdubbed, the same reaction shots repeated, and so forth. As such, it's near impossible to tell if the Nelson theme is original or also overdubbed. Not meaning to turn this into a review thread, but I got the distinct impression that this re-edit job was rushed. At least with Moon and the Desert and even the infuriating episodic version of Wine, Women and War there appears to be some effort to make the padding seem logical. But I'd be interested to know if the very storyline of the episodic "Solid Gold Kidapping" is the same as the movie version, given the extensive overdubbing of dialogue. (I do have the novelization, but that's not always an accurate representation of what was produced for TV as anyone who has compared Mike Jahn's WW&W to the movie can attest. 23skidoo 03:36, 4 February 2008 (UTC) :::I might have found an answer. The closing credits for Part 1 list "music by Oliver Nelson" AND also credit the Springfield song. Part 2 ends with the Springfield song, while Part 1 uses the Nelson theme. So maybe they did use both? 23skidoo 04:34, 4 February 2008 (UTC) ::::Hmm. I'm going to stick my neck out (although no more than yourself) and say no. The end titles on TSGK use the series background and titles (the 2 Glen Larson TV movies used the same typeface as the series for credits, but they were yellow, not white), and Nelson is credited as he was throughout the first 3 seasons. My view is that any element from after the original production may contain credits for the revised edition. Music was one of the major ways the original telefilm was reworked (albeit drawing from Mellé's original tracks), so Nelson may well be credited to reflect the introduction of his theme into the new edit. Confirmation, in my view, would be solid only with a 1973 vintage reference. IMDB doesn't come close.--Major Sloan 03:55, 5 February 2008 (UTC) :::::Agreed. I was able to obtain a copy of the original pilot film about 5 years ago, and I recently got a copy of the original edit of WW&W (and I'm so glad because I couldn't stand the re-edited version). But for some reason Solid Gold Kidnapping just hasn't shown up anywhere, at least not in its original version. I hope if and when SMDM ever gets a home video release in North America (which will probably happen sometime after television is replaced by holovision in 2035 at the rate they're going - ditto the original Batman series) that they use the original TVMs and not the reedited versions. Although Moon and the Desert has some passing interest for the attempt at creating new backstory at the beginning, the others are really an embarassment, especially the syndicated edit of Solid Gold Kidnapping which is so bad I'm actually having trouble sitting through it. 23skidoo 23:17, 6 February 2008 (UTC) ::::::LOL! Not a fan of any of the changes made for syndication, and I'm absolutely with you on releasing the telefilms as originally aired. In my dreams Criterion Collection puts out a box of the telefilms to complement Uni's box of Season One with the syndicated releases. I am certain -''certain'' there will be a Region 1 DVD release. It may indeed, be a ridiculously long time (say the duration of Image Entertainment's option on the Caidin novels), but there will be a release. As to the telefilms in their original form, I wouldn't say hope so much as aspire; I doubt we'll see anything official along those lines. Maybe on a second pass to get us to "double dip." On The Solid Gold Kidnapping, my memory was that all 3 telefilms continued to air on ABC every now and then during the early part of the series run, then went out of circulation for a couple of years before the re-edits were first shown in '78 or so. My memory is that I still got a kick out of the first two, but I was "done" with #3 before the re-edits showed up. The original edit of The Solid Gold Kidnapping is a mediocre movie; the re-edit in syndication brought on a bad reaction: "Oh, no, not this one! Now I gotta wait 2 days before a good one!" Heh.--Major Sloan 21:24, 7 February 2008 (UTC) ::::::::My concern regarding the long delay in DVD release is that the current push towards high-def seems likely to leave standard DVD in the dust. Already I've had to order seaQuest DSV S2 through Amazon because the local Best Buy said they were more interested in high-def releases. If Universal decides the market isn't interested in non-HD releases, I don't know where that will leave SMDM and classicBW. As it is both series missed the VHS format, as well as the initial laserdisc (the release of the pilot by DiscoVision notwithstanding). I've been waiting since 1982 (the purchase of my family's first VCR) for SMDM and BW to be made available in home video. I think 2/3 of my life is long enough to wait. 23skidoo 22:58, 7 February 2008 (UTC) Although as we've discussed, the original edit for SGK is not easy to come by, so I may well be proven wrong, but I'm going to stick my neck out (again) and state my opinion that Nelson's theme must have been part of the original film's soundtrack. I'm (slowly) working my way through it and the music is everywhere, and it seems perfectly integrated into the film, which is the sign for me that the music must have been in the original too, given how generally incompetant the re-edit in general is. Of course, the music might have been handled by a different editor, but it just seems to fit a lot better than I'd expect it to given the rest of the re-edit. 23skidoo 01:50, 9 February 2008 (UTC) :You've probably noticed from the edits I've made that I've tacitly conceded this point, but lets formalize that. I agree that Nelson's work here is original. The "jungle" drums in the Mexico sequence particularly have an "old memory" feel, as does the bit early on with the chopper and Steve's theme. The editing is particularly incompetent here (Aspen?), so your statement re: the excellent synchro work is sensible. I'll go to the extent of taking this out of active talk. Vis-a-vis your comment about the rush job: the flip side is, with the Springfield intro and some time, restoring the original edit could be doable to 95%, since the additions are so obvious. Now there's a project!-Major Sloan 20:19, 15 April 2008 (UTC) ::Well, I ought to have not conceded. Gil Mellé composed the original score for the telefilm. Having just watched it, it was eminently replaceable. Some of the score is reminiscent of his work on the first telefilm, but the only actual reference is when Steve and Erica arrive in Lucerne, Mellé references Stu Phillip's score for WWW, the cue for Oscar's debut that was also removed for syndication! Nelson's work is superior; but at least the movie is a movie, not some frankenstein creation. The rewriting of TV history continues to unfold.--Major Sloan 05:11, 9 October 2008 (UTC)